Throttle valve for locomotives



June -'11, 1929. w. c. REHFUSS THROTTLE VALVE FIOR LOCOMOTIVES Filed May15 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet Jl lne 11, 1929. w, c, E ss 1.717.262

THROTTLE VALVE FOR LOCOMOTIVES Filed May 15, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 June1929. w. c. REHFUSS THROTTLE VALVE FOR LOCOMOTIVES.

Filed May 15, 192.3 3 sheets Sheet MM??- 6%. 6: as H1590?" Patented June11, 192.9.

1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM C. REHFUSS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSI GNOR TO THEBALDWIN LOCOMOTIVE WORKS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPO- RATIONPENNSYLVANIA.

THROTTLE VALVE FOR LoooMoTIvEs.

' Application filed May 15,

This invention relates to throttle valves for locomotives, and residesin a novel and advantageous arrangement hereinafter set forth.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a practical throttlevalve adapted to be located in the smoke-box of a locomotive at thedischarge end of the superheater, whereby a supply of fully superheatedsteam is available immediately upon opening the throttle for use in thelocomotive cylinders at the initial starting of the locomotive, or atany and all times during its period of operation, whereas, prior to theadoption of my invention, the general practice has been to locate thevalve in a dome on the boiler shell, and inadvance of the feed end ofthe superheater, whereby a supply of saturated steam was delivered tothe locomotive cylinders at the initial starting thereof, andconsiderable running of the locomotive was required before the steamsupply at the cylinders be' came fully superheated, resulting inineflicient initial operation thereof.

Another object of my invention is to pro- Vide a steam jacket for theelements constituting the throttle valve by placing them within thesuperheater header wherein they are completely surrounded by steam ofuniform temperature preventing the warping of the valve or its seat dueto the rapid and radical changes of temperature in the smokebox.

Another object of the inventionis to construct the superheater headerand the throttle valve in a suitable manner, and place them in thesmoke-box in a position relative to the shell of the boiler whereby allnecessary packing and all repairs or adjustments of the valve may beperformed outside the boiler shell, eliminating the necessity of blowingdown the boiler.

In the attached drawings:

Figure 1, is a vertical section through a portion of the boiler andsmoke-box of a locomotive showing a valve arrangement according to myinvention;

Fig. 2, is a transverse section on the line 22, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3, is a horizontal section through the superheater header, and

Fig. 4, is a fragmentary section similar to Fig. 1, illustrating amodification of the invention.

1923. Serial No. 639,100.

With reference to the drawings, 1 indicates the forward end of theboiler, and 2 the front tube sheet through whichextends the dry pipe 3.4 is a casting having an inlet 5 to which is connected the dry pipe 3,and having two outlet ports 6, 6, from which extend passages 9 leadingto the cylinders (not shown). The casting 4 includes the superheaterheader, from which wet steam entering from the dry pipe 3 is conductedby pipes 10 constituting the superheater through the flue pipes 11 ofthe boiler, the pipes 10 returning the superheated'steam to the header,from which it passes to the'cylinders. The casting 4, in addition'to thesuperheater header, also comprises a chamber 12 for a throttle valve 13which, in the present instance, is illustrated asa combination of poppetand piston valve which obviously may be balanced, or self-closing orself-opening when released, as may be found desirable. The casting 4 hasan extension 14 Which projects upwardly from the valve chamber andthrough the shell 15 of the smoke-box, this extension in the presentinstance being non-integral with the casting. The valve stem 16 of thevalve passes upwardly through this extension 14, and is operativelyconnected at a point above the shell 15 by means of a bell crank lever17, with a rock shaft 18 journaled in the extension 14, the rock shaftprojecting through the sideof the extension and being connected throughan arm 19 and a rod 20 with the cab of the locomotive, therebyprovidingmeans for operating the valve from that point.

As best shown in Fig. 3, the wet or saturated steam entering the wetsteam distributing chamber 21 of the header passes through ports 22,with which the pipes 10 connect,

through the superheater, and is returned through ports 23 to asuperheated or dry steam receiving chamber 24 of the header. whichlatter also constitutes the chamber 12 for the valve, the steam, whenthe valve is closed, being confined between the upper poppet valve 25and a lower piston valve 26, and being so prevented from passing to thepassages 9. When, however, the valve is elevated, steam is permitted topass through ports 27 and 28 to an outlet chamber 29, with which theoutlet ports 6, 6, communicate, and thence through the ducts 9 to thecylinders.

In Fig. 4, I have illustrated a modification of the invention, in whichthe extension 14 of the casting 4 is integral with the casting, and inwhich is provided an inner sleeve or cage 30 which houses the valve 13and which may be withdrawn bodily through the top of the extension 14following removal of the cover 81 of the latter.

It will be apparent that there may be numerous modifications with nodeparture from the essential features of the invention. The valve 13,for example, may be either a double poppet valve or a double pistonvalve instead of the combination poppet and piston. Valve illustrated.

Inclusion of the throttle valve in the superheater header located in thesmoke-box and luwing the extension projecting through the shell of thesmoke'box through which access may be had to the valve, has manyadvantages which will be obvious to those acquainted with the art. Itwill be noted, for example, that the throttle valve has no packed steamjoints inside the smoke-box and can accordingly be packed withoutblowing down the boiler. It will further be noted that the arrods andlevers outside of the smoke-box, which materially simplifies theconstruction. Also by inclusion of the valve in the casting constitutingthe superheater header, it is readily included with the header in thespace between the-tube sheet and the smoke-box. It will further be notedthat the construction of the superheater header is such that the valveis established between two superheated steam chambers,and that thebalancing of the valve is thereby provided for.

I claim:

In a locomotive, the combination with a steam chamber, smoke-box, and apassage for steam extending from the steam chamber, of a superheaterinvariably connected in series with said passage, a superheater headermounted in the smoke-box and comprising a saturated steam-distributingchamber directly connected to said steam chamber, a superheatedsteam-receiving chamber, an outlet chamber, and a valve chamber betweenthe re ceivingchamber and said outlet chamber, a bonnet for said valvechamber extending upwardly from the said header and through the wall ofthe smoke-box, steam jacketed valve seats in said valve chamber, and abalanced throttle valve in said Valve chamber cooperative with saidseats and removable through the said extended bonnet from the exteriorof the smoke-box.

WILLIAM G. REI-IFUSS.

